You are here

Lions Rally Past Falcons, Clinch Tournament Berth

UAFS SPORTS INFORMATION

They had to do it the hard way, but the UAFS Lions finally clinched a berth in the Heartland Conference Tournament.

UAFS shot 50 percent from the field in the second half to rally from a two-point halftime deficit and beat the University of Texas of the Permian Basin Falcons 55-50 in a play-in game on Thursday at Texas A&M International's Kinesiology and Convocation Building in Laredo, Texas.

The Lions (16-13), who beat the Falcons (15-14) for the second time in three tries this season, will play No. 1 seed and tournament host Texas A&M International at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The game will be broadcast on KHGG-FM 103.1 FM and via the Internet at www.sportsinthefort.com. Live statistics and webcast will be available by visiting the Texas A&M International athletics website (www.godustdevils.com).

It is the first appearance in the conference tournament ever for UAFS, which was a provisional NCAA Division II member the past two seasons an ineligible to participate in the postseason.

It will be the third encounter of the season between UAFS and TAMIU, which beat the Lions 76-84 at Laredo on Jan. 21 and 67-62 on Feb. 16 at the Stubblefield Center.

It will be the third encounter of the season between UAFS and TAMIU, which beat the Lions 76-84 at Laredo on Jan. 21 and 67-62 on Feb. 16 at the Stubblefield Center.

UAFS, which finished in a fourth-place tie with UTPB in the regular season, punched its ticket to the conference tournament with a stellar second-half performance both offensively and defensively that allowed it to erase a 25-23 halftime deficit and win what was a slow-paced game.

The Lions shot just 38 percent from the field in the first half (8-of-21) — they were only 1-of-6 from 3-point range — but scorched the nets in the second half, shooting 50 percent from the field (10-of-20) including a 3-of-8 effort from 3-point range.

After allowing the Falcons to shoot 40 percent from the field in the first half (8-of-20) — they were 3-of-8 from deep — the Lions increased their pressure defensively in the final 20 minutes, holding the Falcons to a paltry 26-percent shooting performance from the field (5-of-19) and a 35-percent shooting effort from deep (5-of-14).

Nineteen of the Falcons' total points came at the free-throw line, where they shot 76 percent (19-of-25).

Junior forward Djordje Stojanovic had six points and a team-high six rebounds, helping the Lions out-rebound the Falcons 30-26. UAFS collected 10 offensive rebounds that led to 15 second-chance points.

Senior guard/forward Ke'Andre Derrick paced the Falcons with 22 points off the bench — he was 14-of-17 from the free-throw line — and senior guard Elijah Jordan also chipped in 12 points off the bench. No Falcon starter scored in double-figures.